Myanmar
and
Kachin Now UN
Afterthoughts,
Ban on Voting
Scarcely
Mentioned
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
April 11 --
Have things in
Myanmar
changed so
much that its
fallen off the
UN Security
Council's
radar screen,
even on the
rare
day there's a
Burmese item
on the agenda?
The
Council was
to have heard
from UN envoy
Vijay Nambiar
on Tuesday,
but it was
unceremoniously
postponed
because Syria,
a briefing by
former head of
peacekeeping
Jean-Marie
Guehenno, was
added to the
agenda.
So
Nambiar came
to the Council
Wednesday
morning,but
quickly left
-- Sudan came
first, the
cross border
fighting
between Juba
and Khartoum.
Outside,
Inner
City Press
asked Nambiar
again about
Kachin State,
where in three
constituencies
voting was not
allowed.
As Inner City
Press reported
last
month, one of
the
constituencies,
Mogaung, has
had no known
fighting so
its unclear
why voting has
been canceled
there --
except
for the fact
that the the
candidate
running there
Dr. Tu Ja was
a
former vice
chairman of
the KIO and
would almost
certainly have
won.
Another
constituency
Hpakant has
had some
fighting but
very little
over the
past few
months so
again its
unclear if
security is
the real
reason
voting can't
take place.
The popular
candidate is
Bauk Ja (also
Bawk
Ja or Bauk
Gyar) is from
the
NLD splinter
group the NDF
and almost
certainly
would win in a
fair fight.
At
least outside
the Security
Council,
Nambiar
acknowledged
that this is a
concern,
adding that
recent
meetings
between the
government and
Karen rebels
might portend
well for the
Kachin.
When
US Ambassador
Susan Rice
emerged at the
end of the
session, she
read out
summaries
on Sudan and,
on Myanmar, a
relatively
glowing one.
The first of
what
were going to
be only two
questions was
on neither of
the morning's
topics, but
rather on
Syria.
The
day previous a
question on
North Korea,
which has not
been on the
agenda pending
the
country's
impending
missile
launch, was
allowed but
taken last,
after
Syria. But on
Wednesday,
Syria came
before either
of the day's
Council agenda
items.
Ambassador
Rice answered
in her
national
capacity.
Then
came a
question on
Sudan,
something
about the
unity of the
Council. (As
Inner City
Press reported
prior to the
stakeout, and
after asking
about Sudan at
the day's UN
noon briefing,
a draft
Presidential
Statement has
already been
circulated,
and experts
will meet on
it in
the
afternoon.)
Then
that was
supposed to be
it: no
question on
Myanmar, and
no mention of
Kachin
or any other
problem.
Inner
City Press
asked about
Kachin, and to
her credit
Ambassador
Rice stopped
and
answered, that
yes it had
come up in
consultations
and members
had
expressed
concerns. But
what will they
do about it?
Myanmar is a
country with a
now full-time
Under
Secretary
General
assigned to
it.
What will be
accomplished,
for example
for the
Kachin?
Secretary
General
Ban Ki-moon is
slated to go
to Myanmar
later this
month for what
many
thing will be
a sort of
victory tour
highlighting a
country that
has
gotten better
while he has
been Secretary
General.
When even
those
countries
which used to
watchdog
backsliding on
Myanmar now
trend to
forgetting it,
what will be
accomplished,
for example
for the
Kachin?
Watch this
site.
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